Current staging methods for pancreatic cancer (PC) are inadequate, and biomarkers to
aid clinical decision making are lacking. Despite the availability of the serum marker
carbohydrate antigen 19.9 (CA19.9) for over two decades, its precise role in the
management of PC is yet to be defined, and as a consequence, it is not widely used.

Methods

We assessed the relationship between perioperative serum CA19.9 levels, survival and
adjuvant chemotherapeutic responsiveness in a cohort of 260 patients who underwent
operative resection for PC.